FOCUS: Beard ban at work poses conundrum for Japan workers+

MAEBASHI, Japan, June 13 Kyodo -
The issue of men with facial hair in the workplace has recently prompted
serious discussions in Japan, as well as actual bans on the alleged grounds of
decorum.
In May, the municipality of Isesaki banned all male staff from wearing beards
in its offices on the grounds that public servants should look decent. The
Gunma Prefecture city took the action after hearing local citizens complain
about its bearded workers.
In response to the news, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said
it had never heard of any municipality in the country introducing such a rule.
Still, the new policy adopted by Isesaki seems nothing new. A growing number of
Japanese workers, including athletes, are being prohibited from turning up for
work unshaven so as not to offend the public.
Major convenience store operator Seven-Eleven Japan Co. is particularly strict
about the appearance of its employees and says it will hire no men with beards.
''We might fire workers growing beards regardless of whether they are regular
staff or part-time workers,'' said the company's public relations officer.
Oriental Land Co., which operates Tokyo Disney Resort, also bans beards. ''It's
important that workers serving our guests maintain an immaculate image,'' said
one official with the theme park firm. ''But the rule does not apply to the man
playing the role of Captain Hook in our park.''
The manufacturing arm of razor maker kai corp. tests the quality of its
products almost every month on their male workers. They grow their facial hair
until the monthly test date arrives and get back to work clean shaven after the
tests.
Some men do take issue with a beard ban, however.
One employee of Japan Post Service Co. sued the firm, protesting against a pay
cut imposed because he wore a beard. In March this year, the Kobe District
Court ordered the mail service company to pay compensation of 370,000 yen to
the plaintiff on the grounds that people's appearance is a matter of personal
freedom and that a uniform ban on beards is unreasonable.
In the sports world, the Yomiuri Giants baseball club is well known for its ban
on beards. When he left the Nippon Ham Fighters for the Giants in December
2006, infielder Michihiro Ogasawara made his fans gasp by shaving his trademark
beard.
The star baseballer said abiding by his team's rules was a matter of his manhood.
No regulations exist regarding facial hair in the world of sumo, the most
tradition-bound of sports in Japan.
According to the Japan Sumo Association, some non-Japanese wrestlers took flak
in the past because they tend to be more hairy than most Japanese and some sumo
fans found their bushy facial hair unseemly. By and large, not wearing a beard
is a tacit rule.
The association, however, is rather flexible regarding the issue. ''We work in
the world where luck counts a great deal so some wrestlers don't get a shave
during their winning streak (thinking their luck may not last without their
beards),'' said an official with the association.
''It is said that growing a beard or not should be a matter of personal freedom
and left to each individual to decide, but organizations fail to function well
if they lack a certain measure of discipline,'' says Mitsuru Yaku, a
cartoonist, who speaks as a commentator on various social issues and is a
bearded man himself.
''A beard is a symbol that is the polar opposite of a virtue associated with a
serious-minded adult, and many people equate beards with decadence or moral
laxity,'' he said. ''A beard ban will likely continue even if young people
sport beards to be stylish.''
Fumio Haruyama, who chairs the human rights committee of the Gunma Bar
Association, takes a dim view of the beard ban, saying it restricts the freedom
of individuals and that the notion that a beard is unacceptable is an arbitrary
preconception.
''People who do not shave out of laziness might be a different matter but I
question whether it's right to set regulations concerning facial hair,'' he
said.
==Kyodo
2010-06-14 00:00:44


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